Thursday, January 22, 2009 - HollywoodDave
Well Merry fuckin Christmas all over again, my people! Today absolutely rocked….for those of you who watched my youtube videos back in November when Obama won the nomination, you know how excited I am for him to be president. And today was the cherry on the top…. I hosted a party at my pad here in Hollywood at 7 am to watch him be inaugurated prez!
Of course, no Hollywood Dave gathering that early would be complete without the requisite mimosas, irish coffee, BK breakfast sandwiches, and other assorted goodies. Needless to say, I was quite drunk by the time Barack ushered Bush onto the waiting helicopter and 8 years of bad memories flew far, far away! Sure, the whole thing coulda been watched hours later on Tivo, but history doesn’t wait & after all the blood sweat and tears that went into this amazing event today, I wanted to be there to watch it firsthand. Even if that meant cutting short my online poker play last nite!!
Speaking of which, I’ve been on fuckin FIRE lately… i told you guys about the 13k i won last month for taking down the UB 50k. Well, just last week i won another UB tourney, this time the $1 rebuy — i know, a sick challenge, but turning $4 into over a grand ain’t bad! Then this past week was UBOC (the UltimateBet Online Championship) and I murdered it — in 9 tournaments, I cashed 6 times, including a 16th place in HORSE, a 19th in the NLH $100 rebuy, and 2 25th place finishes. All in all +5k net, well worth the time and effort.
But that’s not even the craziest part. 2 weeks ago I made my annual pilgrimage to the Blackjack Ball — the once-a-year secret gathering of the world’s most notorious blackjack players in a clandestine, off-strip location — and vote in another member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame. This year it was Richard Munchkin, author and long-time team player who has travelled the world winning millions with some of the most profitable teams of the past few decades. I joked with Max Rubin, the host of the party, on the Rounders Radio show I brought him on to when I co-hosted last week with Annie Duke — “So Max, when am I gonna get inducted??” His response? Try a couple million more in blackjack first, kid, along with developing a couple groundbreaking new techniques along the way. And here i thought acting like a jagoff while taking down every blackjack tourney in my sites was enough!! lol
Now i’m back in LA and taking more meetings about my show, “Grifting Across America” that I’ve been shopping for a few months now. Hollywood shuts down for a month over the holidays but is back in full swing now. A few days ago I had a great creative development meeting with a company I met with right before the break last month, so I’m excited things are moving forward. More details when I have them!
Other than that, I gotta say — I’ve absolutely been killing the Omaha Hi-Lo cash games on UB lately! Now that Cereus launched, its easier to find 15 30 and 30 60 games, with the occasional 50 100 or 100 200 heads-up table….which i love. After Annie transformed my NLH tournament game a few years ago, we’ve been working a lot on my mixed game skills, which online cash game play tests more than any other medium. After some great live results last year, my online game finally caught up as the last cog in the wheel a few months ago and I am actually starting to look at it as my primary source of income now. Sure, tourney wins — and the occasional Hollywood gig — pay more, but for consistency’s sake, give me a solid 15 30 or 30 60 shorthanded O8 game any day!
Oh and before I forget — Annie, Phil and I are rockin’ on this season of the Best Damn Poker Show on FSN Mondy nites @ 11 pm — so make sure you check it out! Since I’m the host this time around, I toned down some of the crazy bad boy antics I love so much, but some pretty hairy situations still manage to pop up without my help. Rock on & holla at ya soon!
-hd
Tags: Annie Duke, Best Damn Poker Show, blackjack ball, blackjack hall of fame, Cereus, election, h.o.r.s.e. tournaments, Hollywood Dave, no limit holdem, Obama, omaha hi-lo, online poker play, Phil Hellmuth, UB 50K, ub tournaments, UBOC
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Monday, January 19, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Yesterday millions of folks tuned in to watch the NFL Championship games. God knows I did–I’m from Pittsburgh, I bleed Black and Gold, and after an emotionally-draining rollercoaster of a game I’m basking in the glow of gridiron glory. But even with the Steelers locked in trench warfare with the hated Ravens my attention was diverted yesterday. A million dollars can catch just about anybody’s eye.
Because that’s what was on the line yesterday during the final event of the UltimateBet Online Championship. We’d guaranteed a $1 million prize-pool, but with an astonishing 1,115 entrants we easily eclipsed that figure. And it was a star-studded field, with the full roster of Team UB pros playing and scores of online superstars taking to the tables in hopes of taking down the $245,188.50 first prize.
It took nearly twelve hours for the winner to finally reveal himself, but as you look at the final table you get some idea of the caliber of the field:
And two of those online superstars tangled in the first decisive hand of the final table, as Thayer “UCF_THAYER” Rasmussen used pocket Tens to send Steve “ZUGWAT” Silverman out in 9th place, good for a $18,955 payday. Mohsin “CHICAGOCARDS1″ Charania then eliminated UBRAMAUCCH when he called an all-in with pocket Nines and they held up. UBRAMAUCHH collected $26,760 for finishing eighth, and after being knocked out in 7th place METROCAT took home a tidy $37,352.50.
CHICAGOCARDS1 was the next to be eliminated, but before you feel too bad for him you should know that in addition to the $48,502 he collected for finishing sixth he also final-tabled another major event last night (at another, unnamed site…OK it was Full Tilt) and that’s not a bad evening’s work. BOOTSWILD was next to go, winning $59,652.50 after he was taken out by the two pair Hafiz “YUNGMONEY209″ Khan made holding Ace-Jack. And then it was Dave “DOUBLEDAVE22″ D’Alesandro’s time to go–after some good-natured banter at the table about how well he’d been running, UCF_THAYER brought an end his final-table run when he rivered a flush to send DOUBLEDAVE22 out in 4th, good for a $71,917.50 payday.
And so the three-handed battle commenced between Thayer “UCF_THAYER” Rasmussen, Shane “THEBUBBLE1″ Pacheco and YUNGMONEY209. UCF_THAYER had the shortest stack of the three but was still very much in contention before his somewhat unfortunate hand. THEBUBBLE1 shoved from the small blind and UCF_THAYER made the call holding As-5s. His hand led THEBUBBLE1’s 9c-7c, but the 4h-7d-6s flop paired THEBUBBLE1 while giving UCF_THAYER an open-ended straight draw to go with his Ace. But the board ran out 6d and Jc and as Pacheco typed “gg sir, sry bout that” Rasmussen was eliminated in third, with $99,792,50 to console him.
The heads-up battle began with the players holding nearly identical stacks and neither was able to land a serious blow until THEBUBBLE1 won a big pot after turning a straight to give him a 2-1 chiplead. But YUNGMONEY209 turned the tables when THEBUBBLE1 re-raised all-in holding Kc-3c and YUNGMONEY209 called holding pocket Jacks. They held up and just that fast YUNGMONEY209 had a $4M to $1.5M lead.
A lead he never relinquished. After the two traded chips back and forth for a dozen hands THEBUBBLE1 open-shoved from the button and YUNGMONEY209 made the call holding pocket Fours. He was racing against THEBUBBLE1’s Qs-10S and with a UBOC title and nearly a quarter of a million dollars on the line it came down to your typical coin-flip situation.
And this time the pocket pair carried the day, as the 2c-5d-Kh flop didn’t change the status quo. The 9s on the turn gave THEBUBBLE1 a gutshot draw to go with his overcards, but the river brought the 7h and that was all she wrote. THEBUBBLE1 won $144,615.50 for finishing as our runner-up, but after nearly twelve hours of battle it was Hafiz “YUNGMONEY209″ Khan who won the $245,188.50 first-prize and the coveted UBOC championship title.
Tags: chicagocards1, dave d'alesandro, hafiz khan, hafizzle, shane pacheco, steve silverman, thay3r, thayer rasmussen, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc championship, UCF_THAYER, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championship, ultimatebet tournaments, yungmoney209, zugwat
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Saturday, January 17, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
When you play in one of our UBOC events you can win back your buy-in by knocking out one of our pros, who are easily identifiable because their screen names are in red. But if you checked the leaderboard last night you’d find that there was one bounty that went uncollected during UBOC Event #10. And that’s because Matt “WISCOMURRAY” Murray won the shorthanded Limit Hold-Em tournament last night in a back-and-forth scrum that saw players go from worst to first (and then back again) in a single hand.
Both THELTRAIN and BOOMBAT2 were brutally short coming into the final table and they were quickly escorted to the rail. THELTRAIN went first, committing the last of his chips with Qh-8d and getting called by HYERAN KIM’s Ah-10h. The board bricked out and THELTRAIN collected $1,890 for his sixth-place finish. BOOMBAT2 was next to visit the payout window, as he raised with Kd-3c and was called by YNGMANN4QUIKI. After the 3d-5h-2c flop BOOMBAT2 pushed in his last handful of chips. YNGMANN4QUIKI called to find that his As-Qh had been outflopped, but the Qd spiked on the turn and the Ah on the river for good measure and BOOMBAT2 was out in fifth, good for $2,340.
YNGMANN4QUIKI went out next, but not before a hand that rivaled Teddy KGB’s cold-decking of Mike McD at the begining of Rounders. After a raise and a call before the flop WISCOMURRAY and YNGMANN4QUIKI exchanged a series of raises and re-raises after a 5c-Qc-10d flop. The same happened after the Kd turned, and when the 8c fell on the river YNGMAN called one last bet from WISCO, who turned over Kc-Jc for the rivered flush (after the flopped open-ender/flush draw and the turned pair). YNGMANN4QUIKI flashed Kh-Ks for the turned set that didn’t hold up, and one hand later WISCOMURRAY finished YNGMANN4QUIKI off, hopefully the $2,790 he collected for finishing fourth provided some solace (maybe some Oreos would help as well).
Down to three-handed WISCOMURRAY, HYERAN KIM and Kevin “KICE32″ Iacafano took turns hammering away at each other. The blinds were large enough and the stacks small enough that losing a single hand could deal a crippling blow, and that’s what happened to KICE32. He lost a huge pot when WISCOMURRAY tabled a flopped set of threes and that left KICE32 with just $28K. But he tripled up on the next hand when, holding K-9, he flopped a King and turned a nine to get back in the game.
At one point HYERAN KIM seemed to be getting the best of it but he couldn’t deliver the knockout blow. There was one hand that might’ve been decisive–with the board showing the five through eight of diamonds HYERAN KIM bet and WISCOMURRAY called. HYERAN KIM showed the nine of diamonds for the straight flush, while WISCO flashed the Ace of diamonds for the faux-nut flush. WISCOMURRAY might’ve lost more on that hand, but he didn’t, and slowly the tide turned his way. He went on a run where he won five hands in a row, including the one that sent KICE32 out in third place. With WISCO holding 8d-9c, the flop came 8s-Ac-As, and after a bet and a call the turn brought the 9h. A bet, raise and re-raise left KICE32 with just $17K and that went in after the river brought the 8h. WISCOMURRAY showed his full house and when KICE32 couldn’t beat it he was our third-place finisher, good for a $3,780 payday.
The heads-up match started with WISCO holding a $760K to $140K chip lead over HYERAN KIM, and though KIM won seven of the ten heads-up hands (including one where he doubled-up with pocket Aces) he never made up much ground. After getting his stack up to over $300K HYERAN KIM lost a big hand when WISCOMURRAY turned a King for top pair, and on the next hand the two players exchanged a series of raises until KIM was left with just a few thousand chips. The flop came 10h-3h-Qs, the last of HYERAN KIM’s chips went in, and that’s when he learned that his Ah-9c were completly crushed by WISCO’s Ad-10c. The Kc on the turn gave HYERAN KIM hopes of a chop, but the river brought the 6c and the end of HYERAN KIM’s hopes. He won $5,454 for finishing as our runner-up, and Matt “WISCOMURRAY” Murray took home $9,000 and serious bragging rights within the Team UB roster for taking down a UBOC title.
Tags: kice32, Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc events, uboc tournaments, ultimatebet, wiscomurray
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Friday, January 16, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
To succeed in limit poker, you must have the math. The calculations aren’t complicated but if the numbers aren’t encoded into you DNA you will struggle. To win in limit poker your play must be as precise as a Swiss watch and as cooly analytical as a Swiss banker. In no-limit mastery of the math is important, but not definitive. You must also have heart. Or guts. Fortitude, let’s call it. And something else–imagination. You not only have to step into the shoes of your opponent, you must also allow him to step into yours…and then trick him into seeing your lies as the truth. That massive all-in re-raise you just made…a bluff, or are you holding the nuts and daring your foe to make a doomed hero call? As Crandall Addington once said, “Limit poker is a science, but no-limit is an art. In limit you are shooting at a target. In no-limit, the target comes alive and shoots back at you.”
Pot-limit poker lies in the middle ground between the two. There are those who believe pot-limit requires the most skill–you can bet enough to protect your hand and price out draws, but you can’t just shove in your stack after seeing your hole cards. You must see flops. You must build pots. The limits (and excesses) of the other two games is somewhat mitigated.
Last night 532 players took to the felt to display their pot-limit skills in UBOC Event #9. Both Adam “ROOTHLUS” Levy and Matt “WISCOMURRAY” Murray made it deep, but not as deep as the nine players who made last night’s final table:
After JLFOXLKN was eliminated in 9th and PONYNECK in 7th, there was some talk of a chop as no player had an overwhelming chip lead (LOOT613 led as the final table started with $334K). But the negotiations quickly came to an end and play resumed. Lady luck is a fickle one and after LUCKYSNORM went out in 7th the next player bounced from the tournament was LOOT613, the one-time chipleader. Which again got the players talking about a chop, and which led WU_WIZARD to respond to the entreaties with a succient, “Nah”.
And a good decision it was, because after EL_PIEB10, MILKMONEY4ME and FREEZE1873133 were eliminated in turn, GARNET and WU_WIZARD played heads-up for the title. And a long, cautious battle it was, with each player jabbing and feinting rather than throwing haymakers–perhaps illustrating the difference between pot- and no-limit. WU_WIZARD held the chip lead most of the way before GARNET was able to claw back and even take a slight lead. But that advantage was erased when, with the board reading 10h-6h-7d-Qc, GARNET made a $275,000 bet and WU_WIZARD moved all-in. GARNET surrendered his hand and more than half his chips, and the writing was on the wall. GARNET battled back to push his stack back up to $400K, but after limping in and seeing WU_WIZARD make a pot-sized raise, GARNET hit back with a re-raise. But WU_WIZARD had a hand, Ah-Qs, and after he moved all-in the pot-stuck GARNET called and found that his Kd-5c needed help. Help he didn’t get on the Qc-8h-9c flop, and after the 7s turned and the 8s fell on the river GARNET was out in 2nd place (winning $20,025, a much better payday than he would’ve had in a five-way chop) and WU_WIZARD’s self-confidence was rewarded with $34,495 and a UBOC title.
Tags: Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, pot-limit tournaments, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc events, uboc tournaments, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championships, ultimatebet tournaments
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Thursday, January 15, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
T.J. Cloutier once said that he didn’t care how many people he knocked out of a poker tournament, so long as he knocked out the LAST person. Because, obviously, that meant he’d won the tournament, and that’s the ultimate goal. But as anyone who’s watched poker on TV knows the most dramatic moments are the big confrontations, when all the chips go in the middle, the cards are flipped over, and one player’s life hangs in the balance.
Not that poker players usually need extra incentive to go for the throat, but last night’s UBOC event gave them even more reason to channel the shrieking, befanged beast that lies within. UBOC Event #8 was our Sniper event, where each player has a $30 bounty on his/her head. Knock someone out, collect thirty bucks. Knock two people out, collect sixty bucks. Knock three people out…but I’ve made my point.
So in addition to the money you’d win for cashing there was another revenue stream to be had–collecting scalps. And one of the trophies most prized at UB’s tables is a knockout of Phil Hellmuth, who made a deep run and finished 31st. His run might’ve been deeper had he not been crippled by RAM20INCH and then polished off soon after by CALMJACKAL, which delighted the railbirds watching Phil.
Speaking of the railbirds, some anthropology Ph.D candidate should eschew the indiginous tribes of the Amazon or Papua New Guinea and do a detailed study of people who rail well-known poker players. There’s important and interesting work to be done among those people.
Several other well-known players came close to making the final table, including Jon “PearlJammed” Turner (who finished 12th) and Frank “gator43″ Hernandez (who finished 13th). HUSSRAMILTON, who was the runner-up in Tuesday night’s H.O.R.S.E. event, followed up that impressive result by posting an 11th place finish. And Robbie “CUNNINGHAM” Cunningham finished 16th…here’s a picture of him from the 2008 Aruba Poker Classic:
That’s Liv Boeree standing on Robbie’s shoulders. Good picture of him, yes?
Anyway, there were nine players who DID make the final table, and here there are/were:
And as the final table played down here’s how they placed and cashed:
- 9th: Corey “CMB8757″ Burbick $2,611
- 8th: THALAIET $3,682
- 7th: AGS104 $5,022
- 6th: MICOJONES $6,361
- 5th: TWOLIP69 $7,700
- 4th: RAM20INCH $9,374
As the survivors played three-handed SAILORLOBELL held nearly 60% of the chips in play, and he seized total control when he raised to $33,000 on the button and Jason “TAKNAPOTIN” Somerville moved all-in for his last $303K. SAILORLOBELL called and his Ac-Ks had Somerville’s Kd-Qs dominated. The board bricked for both players and SAILORLOBELL went into heads-up play with a $1.17 million to $315K chiplead over STRIFE23.
A lead that lasted just one hand, as STRIFE23 doubled up when, holding A-3 to SAILORLOBELL’S A-9 and all the money in preflop, STRIFE23 rivered a trey to stay alive and get himself back in serious contention. But despite that brutal beat SAILORLOBELL didn’t falter, winning the next four hands to get his stack back up over $1 million. He maintained that lead until the last hand, as the two players saw a 6c-4s-8s flop and STRIFE23 led out for $50,000. SAILORLOBELL made a small raise to $120,000, and STRIFE23 moved in the last of his chips. To find that his Jc-7c were in bad shape against SAILORLOBELL’s Js-10s. The 8d on the turn and 9c on the river didn’t save STRIFE23 and he finished as our runner-up, winning $20,088. While SAILORLOBELL took home $32,810, an UltimateBet Online Championship title…and $30 for knocking the last person out of the tournament.
Tags: Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, sniper tournaments, t.j. cloutier, ub, ub sniper tournaments, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc tournaments, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championships, ultimatebet tournaments
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
The player who wins the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament at the World Series of Poker gains the unofficial title of Best Player in the World. Last night 335 players took to the tables to try to win the unofficial title of Best Player at the UltimateBet Online Championships. I myself played in the mini-H.O.R.S.E. event that ran concurrently to the main tourament and all I have to say about that is…razz. (Expletive deleted) razz.
Several familiar names made it deep in last night’s tournament, including The Best Damn Poker Show’s host Hollywood Dave Stann (who finished 16th) and wunderkind James “mig.com” Mackey, who finished just off the final table in 11th. One well-known player who did make the final table was Alex “AKJHoosier1″ Kamberis, the top-ranked online tournament player according to PocketFives. Kamberis finished 5th…actually, why not show who made the final table:
By the time we reached the final table the blinds were big in relation to the stacks and one hand could spell the difference between being warily comfortable and clawing for survival. Player after player fell by the wayside, and in this particular order:
- 8th: HUNTER129 $1,050
- 7th: MAPSFLY $1,550
- 6th: KIDTEXICAN $2,050
- 5th: AKJHOOSIER1 $2,875
- 4th: NHGGSIKE $3,875
- 3rd: ALL-IN $5,375
The heads-up battle between DRY_BENEFIT and HUSSRAMILTON was a drawn-out affair that didn’t conclude until just past 5am ET. At one point HUSSRAMILTON was down to just $50,502 (with the blinds at 12,500/25,000) but spiked a nine on the river during a Hold-Em hand to stay alive. He doubled up against with K-4 against DRY_BENEFIT’s pocket Jacks (flopping a King) and got his stack up to near $350K before slipping again. But he kept in the game, doubling up with A-2 against DRY_BENEFIT’s A-7 when he turned a deuce, but that merely delayed the inevitable. Playing Hold-Em HUSSRAMILTON raised with 8d-7d and was called. The Jd-10s-6c gave him a gutshot draw and he moved in the last of his chips, only to find that he was up against DRY_BENEFIT’S Ah-7s, which took away three potential outs. The turn brought the Jh and the river the 3c and that, at long last, brought an end to UBOC Event #7. DRY_BENEFIT won $13,500 and the title, while HUSSRAMILTON had to console himself with the $7,875 he won as runner-up.
Tags: akjhoosier1, h.o.r.s.e., h.o.r.s.e. tournaments, Hollywood Dave, mig.com, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc events, uboc3, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championship
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Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
If you were looking for evidence that Texas Hold-Em’s hegenomy over poker has been broken, look no further than last night’s UBOC Pot-Limit Omaha/8 event. A total of 399 players signed up to play a tournament that wasn’t no-limit, wasn’t Hold-Em, and WAS a split-pot game for cryin’ out loud. People have learned that these other forms of poker are great games as well and that they require different approaches if you want to succeed (split-pot games especially). Plus, in general, people are gettin’ pretty good at this Hold-Em game. So if you’re looking for new aquariums to fish from, sharpening your skills in Omaha/8 is a great place to start.
As, apparently, these nine players did, as they outlasted 390 of their peers to reach last night’s UBOC final table:
For a split-pot game the final table was quickly winnowed down to the final four, with the eliminations (and payouts) going like this:
- 9th: NOCH08 $1,197
- 8th: MOB29 $1,795
- 7th: WHOMPADPG $2,394
- 6th: JEFFRY53 $2,992
- 5th: WWLLLWW $3,591
I covered a few Omaha Hi-Lo events at this year’s World Series of Poker and was glad to see that the other reporters and even the floorpersons had some trouble figuring out who the heck won the pot. I mean, the hand that eliminated WANNA_RETIRE in 4th place isn’t that difficult to figure out, but when you’re watching it unfold in online-time and shuffling through two hands, eight cards, and countless permutations, it sets the circuits to sparking:
The board is paired…there’s no low hand…neither player connected with the flop…so THE_CASHIER’s nine kicker plays and sent WANNA_RETIRE into involuntary early retirement. Though the $4,189 he won for finishing fourth should be a nice addition to his portfolio.
When we reached three-handed play THE_CASHIER had about 1.76 million, OMAHAJOHN had around 420,000 and THE MENTOR had around 210,000. The three played about fifteen hands (with THE_CASHIER losing about 300,000 split equally between the other two players) before they all decided that a deal might be a civilized course of action. They called in UB’s online floor manager, came to a quick consensus, and just like that the deal was done. Variance has not had many opportunities to bedevil the players who have gone deep in our UBOC events.
So it was Pot-Limit Omaha/8 last night, and tonight the game is H.O.R.S.E.! A $120+10 H.O.R.S.E. event (with a $50,000 guaranteed prize pool) to determine who is the best mixed-game player of them all. That event starts at 8:30pm ET, as does our mini-UBOC H.O.R.S.E. event, which might be right up your alley if you haven’t played a lot of mixed-games and want to dip your toes in.
Tags: h.o.r.s.e., h.o.r.s.e. tournaments, pot-limit omaha, pot-limit omaha hi-lo tournaments, pot-limit omaha tournaments, pot-limit omaha/8 tournaments, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc events, uboc tournament, uboc3, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championship, ultimatebet tournaments
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Monday, January 12, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
With apologies to Bob Geldof, how come? OK, Monday’s usually mean a return to the working week, but Monday night’s are usually pretty good, what with the joys of Monday Night Football. Of course, there’s no more football on Monday nights, so what to do?
Well, first off you should clear your schedule and clear your mind for the sixth event of the UltimateBet Online Championship, our $150+12 Pot-Limit Omaha/8 tournament which kicks off at 8:30pm ET. Pot-Limit Omaha…8. Now that’s a game to scramble your brain, yeesh. It’ll take me twenty minutes to decipher each hand to see who was ahead, what draws were out there, what the players need to catch for the scoop…split-pot games are the bane of the poker reporter.
On the odd chance you get knocked out early, fear not. You’ll still have a chance to fully indulge your poker passions, as The Best Damn Poker Show premieres tonight on FSN. Once again Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth assemble their teams to lead into battle, and again there should be some…interesting hi-jinks to follow. Check your local listings for show time–in my neck of the woods it’s on at 11pm, but I’ve heard some other areas are broadcasting it at other times. This is what TiVo was made for, methinks.
Tags: Annie Duke, Best Damn Poker Show, bob geldof, Phil Hellmuth, ub, ub tournaments, UBOC, uboc tournaments, ultimatebet, ultimatebet online championships
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Monday, January 12, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
As both a hockey fan and a tight-weak poker player the word “shorthanded” has negative connotations for me. But shorthanded play is the wave of the present in poker, with both heads-up and six-handed games becoming more and more popular. Shorthanded games force you to play more hands, play more hands after the flop, make more difficult decisions…in short, you have to play more poker. And last night saw UltimateBet stage it’s $300+20 six-handed Hold-Em event, which featured 793 players. And here are the half-dozen who made it to our 33% roomier final table:
When you’re the table shortstack and you shove from the small blind with Qc-9d you’re no doubt hoping the big blind folds, because you’re only gonna get called by a better hand. That’s exactly what befell ERIKTHEKING7 as his steal attempt was arrested by WHITHERED’s call with a dominating Ks-Qs. No help arrived on the board and ERIKTHEKING7 was dead, long live ERIKTHEKING7.
A few hands later MADMAX91 raised from the small blind, but with a legitimate hand–As-Qd. JBLAZE20 made the call from the big blind and when the flop came 6c-2h-7c MADMAX91 probably though those baby cards hadn’t hit his opponent and so moved all-in. His timing proved poor–JBLAZE20 had flopped a set of deuces and that was pretty much that. MADMAX91 didn’t hit his runner-runner miracle and was out in fifth place.
Many of the UBOC events have ended with the players making a deal and when we were four-handed the players started discussing possible terms. But WHITHERED didn’t seem much interested in dealing and when he put forth a proposal the other players quickly rejected it and we got back to business. After RYANWELCH16 (the chipleader) raised it up UPAYMYMORTGAGE drew the line in the sand and moved all in. RYANWELCH16 called, to find that his Ad-6h was dominated by UPAYMYMORTGAGE’s Ac-Jh. But the situation was reversed about a nanosecond later as the 6d-8s-4d flop gave RYANWELCH16 a pair and when the turn and river brought diamonds he held the nut flush and sent UPAYMYMORTGAGE to the rail in 4th place.
At this point RYANWELCH16 had a huge chip lead with WHITHERED AND JBLAZE20 lagging well behind, but the two shortstacks quickly consolidated, though not in the way JBLAZE20 might’ve chosen. WHITHERED moved all-in from the small blind with Ac-Qs and JBLAZE20 made the call with pocket Fours. The baby pair still led the race after the 9c-3h-6d flop, but the turn brought the Ah and the river the As for good measure to eliminate JBLAZE20 in third.
RYANWELCH16 held a bit less than a 4-1 chip lead as heads-up play started but WHITHERED still wasn’t interested in making a deal. The two traded pots for a bit but WHITHERED wasn’t able to make up much ground before the final hand. There was a raise, an all-in, and a call, and WHITHERED’s Kh-Jh needed some help against RYANWELCH16’s Ad-2c. The 3s-Qh-Qd brought some teasing paint but no real help, though the 5h on the turn did–it gave WHITHERED a flush draw. But the river saw the 10d fall and that withered WHITHERED’s stack and left RYANWELCH16 as the champion of UBOC Event #5 and $66,000 richer.
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Sunday, January 11, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Deep stack tournaments do not necessarily translate into interminable death-marches that last till dawn. A case in point is tonight’s UBOC Event #4, a deep-stack No-Limit Hold-Em event that started at 2:30pm ET. A total of 402 players resisted the urge to watch the NFL playoffs (though I’m sure quite a few were multitasking) and by the time we reached the final table it looked like this:
A few familiar names at that final table–Matt “WISCOMURRAY” Murray, for one. TRALAIRA, who final-tabled UBOC Event #1, for another. And they would be among those who lasted until the end, though the same can’t be said for LOLPWNU, who was eliminated in 9th place when he commited the last of his chips with pocket Tens (my lucky hand) and was called by COMPLETEDONK in the big blind holding the mighty Qd-5c. A Queen on the flop probably didn’t make LOLPWNU laugh out loud, as he went out in ninth place.
After the action was folded around to ILETURUN in the small blind he moved all-in to put the squeeze on STORER50, only to get squeezed back when STORER50 called with Ac-6h to ILETURUN’s 8s-5s. Just as they say you can never find a cop when you need one, ILETURUN couldn’t find an eight or five when he needed one and was eliminated in 8th place.
CHAUCHMEYER looked to be in good shape to double up when his Ad-Kd had ANABOOLA’s Ac-Qh. The flop and turn didn’t alter the situation and all CHAUCHMEYER had to do was fade a Queen on the river to double up. You know where this is going, right?–the Qs spiked on the river and cruelly sent CHAUCHMEYER to the rail in 7th place.
COMPLETEDONK was next to fall, shoving with As-4c and getting called by ANABOOOLA’s pocket Nines. COMPLETEDONK picked up a wheel draw on the river but the river brought no help and he was out in 6th. There are many brutal ways to get bad-beated out of a tournament, but the way STORER50 was ushered out the door is one that especially bugs me. He was all in holding pocket Sevens to ANABOoOLA’s Ac-9d. The 10h-4c-Qc didn’t threaten much, though the 10c on the turn gave ANABOOOLA a flush draw. But it wasn’t a club or an Ace that spelled COMPLETEDONK’s doom–it was the Qh, which put two pair on the board and counterfeited his pocket Sevens. ANABOOOLA’s Ace played and that lone card was strong enough to eliminate COMPLETEDONK in fifth place.
During play there had been some talk about making a deal, but discussions began in earnest when we got four-handed. ANABOOOLA had a sizeable chip lead but it was the shorter stacks who wanted a bit more bread before they’d deal. Play resumed and ANABOOOLA flexed his musclesby moving in from the small blind, and YUFOLDBSTHND called with As-5s. ANABOOOLA turned over Jd-4c, a modest holding that grew in stature when a Jack came on the flop. No Ace came to save the day and YUFOLDBSTHND was out in 4th place.
And that’s when the three remaining players returned to the negotiating table and tried to hammer out a deal. ANABOOOLA had about 75% of the chips in play and the three players went back-and-forth, forth-and-back coming up with terms that would be agreeable to all. Note to self–do some reading on negotiating tactics and the parsing of financial data. Either that or retain a CPA to assist in all dealmaking at the poker table.
But in the end a deal was made and that deal brought an end to the tournament. A situation we may see repeated in future events, or perhaps not. There’s a lot of money involved after all…but then again, that’s why they call it gambling. Congratulations to ANABOOOLA, TRALAIRA and WISCOMURRAY for a very good day’s work indeed.
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